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Latest Articles

The Commonwealth Attorney General today released draft amendments to the Family Law Act 1975 regarding preventing direct cross-examination of a victim of domestic violence from the perpetrator of such abuse.

A successful separation is one in which the parents separate from each other but do not require the child to separate from one of the parents, either as a result of parental conflict or by one parent not being available to the child.

The Commonwealth Attorney General has today announced a significant financial boost to our struggling children's contact centres and the new FDR services being piloted across Australia including in Queensland.

Barely a week goes by now without receiving some enquiry about arbitration. The momentum toward this form of dispute resolution is now in full swing with the benefits this forum provides now being realised by both clients and lawyers.

The Commonwealth Attorney General has today announced a significant financial boost to our struggling children's contact centers and the new FDR services being piloted across Australia including in Queensland.

A successful separation is one in which the parents separate from each other but do not require the child to separate from one of the parents, either as a result of parental conflict or by one parent not being available to the child.

The Commonwealth Attorney General today released draft amendments to the Family Law Act 1975 regarding preventing direct cross-examination of a victim of domestic violence from the perpetrator of such abuse.

We have heard some regional practitioners and judges complain about a lack of mediation resources contributing to longer delays for litigants or less satisfactory outcomes in regional areas. It's not that there isn't experienced local mediators – quite the contrary – but reduced availability due to court commitments or conflicts are increased in regional areas.

The last few weeks has seen me stepping back into the breach in the true sense of the word. This brief foray into the catacombs of the Sir Harry Gibbs building was partly altruistic (as I find ICL briefs intrinsically rewarding), partly “product placement” (that sounds tacky) and partly to keep my forensic skills honed.

The first mediation back for 2017 had me confused. It was booked in the usual way, however one party was a son acting under enduring power of attorney for his father. The other party was the de facto partner (of the father).

The appeal concerned the decision of Foster J to set aside a BFA and thereafter order interim spousal maintenance in the sum of $1,500 per week to the wife. The thrust of the appeal was the trial judge’s decision to set aside the BFA pursuant to s90K(1)(d) namely that there had been a material change in circumstances due to the birth of children after the execution of the agreement. It is to be noted that the wife was pregnant with the parties first child when signing the BFA.

The hard work has been done and you have received your award from the arbitrator. Or, a new client attends your office with an award from an arbitrator. What steps you take next for the client, depends upon whether the client accepts and wishes to enforce the award or does not accept.

On Saturday 19 November, I was privileged to be a presenter at FLPA in the Tropics, Townsville with several other colleagues and respected judges. This was a repeat of the FLPA presentation in Cairns earlier in the year.

At the National Family Law Conference on 19 October 2016 the Attorney-General released the Reports on Families with Complex Needs and the Intersection of the Family Law and Child Protection Systems (Terms of Reference 3,4 and 5).

Per the Chief Judge: “The Court’s workload has steadily increased and the timely replacement of retiring judges is critical to the Court’s ability to deal with its workload. Additional judges are also needed to cope with increased jurisdiction, greater volume, and increasing length of trials.”

Here is some good news from Canberra with the Attorney-General releasing details upon important initiatives for the family law system. Each family that is kept out of the family law system benefits all of those involved in the system.

One common question that arises during our seminars is, “Can the award be appealed?”. The first concept to understand is that there is no provision for an “appeal” of an award but rather a review of the award (sec. 13J) or by setting aside the award (sec. 13K)

The Family Law Practitioners Association of Queensland has recently written directly to the Attorney-General challenging the suggested changes of Sen. Hansen but clearly highlighting the resource crisis in our Brisbane Registry.

A binding financial agreement (BFA) ousts the jurisdiction of the family law courts with respect to property settlement and spousal maintenance provided that certain requirements are met. The developing jurisprudence in this area of law has shown that practitioners and clients embarking upon this process need to attend same with caution and due diligence. Some practitioners simply do not draft or sign off upon BFAs through fear of being sued by their client when the agreement is determined not have been binding or is otherwise set aside.

Our interactions with the Court are solemn in nature. In my experience, there is no more serious application that a legal representative can make than one seeking the removal of a Judge from hearing a matter on the grounds of actual or apprehended bias.

The prevalence of mediations in family law matters has increased in the last five years due to many factors. The status of a mediation in a family law matter has risen to the status of a prescribed pre-action procedure. A matter being listed for hearing without a mediation having taken place is the exception.